Skate warmer



April 13, 1965 P. c. METCALF 3,178,195

SKATE WARMER Filed June 14, 1962 FIG. 2

INVEN TOR.

Phyllis C. Mecalf United Stat-esv Patent O 3,178,195 SKATE WARMER Phyllis C. Metcalf, 1370 Everett Road, Lake Forest, El. Filed .lune 14, 1962, Ser. No. 292,524 1 Claim. (Cl. E30-11.37)

The present invention relates to skate shoes and, more particularly, to a warmer for skate shoes.

It is-an object of theV present invention to provide a new and improved warmer for a skate shoe.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a warmer that extends around the entire boot of a skate shoe.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a warmer that can be easily and quickly attached to a skate shoe.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide for a skate shoe a warmer that maintains the foot of a wearer of the skate shoe at a relatively cornfortable temperature, yet is highly ornamental in appearance.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a skate shoe a warmer that extends around the sides and bottom of the boot of a skate shoe, as well as engages the leg or clothing of a wearer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for a skate shoe a warmer that is manually adjustable in size so as to snugly t different sized skate shoes.

It is yet another object, in accordance-with the previous object, to provide adjustable fastening means that readily permit continuous, as contrasted with incrementali, adjustment of the size of the warmer.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide for a shoe skate a warmer having a bottom that underlies substantially the entire sole of the boot of the skate shoe and having an upper end that coacts with the leg of a wearer, irrespective of the size of the skate shoe or of the legof the wearer.

The above and other objects are realized in accordance with the present invention by providing a newand improved warmer for a skate shoe. Briefly, the warmer ts over substantially the entire boot of a skate shoe to protect the foot of the user from relatively cold air, with the result that the wearers` foot is maintained at` a relatively comfortable temperature during any skating activity. To achieve the above objectives, the warmer is made from a fabric-like material having high heat retentive properties. In any event, the warmer comprises a onepiece member having a configuration conformable to that of a boot of the skate shoe so that it can quickly slip over the toe and around the body of the skate boot. Because of its configuration, its lower portion underlies the bottom oi the skate boot and its upper portion coacts with the leg of the wearer. Suitable fastening means are provided to permit the warmer to be tted snugly to the skate shoe, regardless of its size.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, taken with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a skate warmer embodying the features of the present invention, illustrated as used with a skating shoe;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the warmer of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are end elevational views of the warmer of FIG. 1, illustrating the different positions of the warmer for different degrees of snugness on the boot of the shoe skate; and j FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the warmer of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing and in particular to FIGS.

1 and 2, there is illustrated a shoe skate warmer embody- Y Patented Apr. 13, 1965 ICC ing the features oi the present invention and generallyV identitied by reference numeral 1li. The shoe skate warmer lil is particularly adapted to be used with an ice skate 12, although it should be understood that the warmer 10 is also'adapted to be used with other types of skating shoes, for example, roller skates or the like. The ice skate 12, as is well known, comprises a boot 11 from which depends downwardly a blade 1S. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the warmer 1li extends substantially around the bottom, the side, and the upper portion of the skate boot 11 and, consequently, the foot of the wearer of the shoe skate 12 is maintained at a substantially warm temperature, irrespective of the temperature of the air.

The warmers lil are usually sold in pairs, with each warmer lll of the pair being of identical construction. Actnally, each warmer 1% comprises substantially identical halves 14 and 15 which are cut out from the desired material by two substantially mirror-like patterns.' In one form of the invention, the Warmer 1li comprises a single layer of fabric provided on its outer surface with relatively long pile which has both heat retentive properties and an attractive ornamental appearance. In another form of the invention, the warmer comprises two layers of material, the inner one orv which is made of wool or the like material, and the outer one of which comprises a fabric provided on its outer surface with relatively long pile having the above described'characteristics.

Considering morespeciiically the construction of the warmer lil, attention is specifically invited to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5. As illustrated, the warmer Si@ comprises a left half 14 and a right half 16 having a shape corresponding to the side profile of the boot 1l. Leading edges i3 and Ztl are turned inwardly and sewed to provide a smooth outward seam ZZ which is adapted to overlie the laces of boot 1l. The halves t4 and 16 are so configured that when the edges i8 and 2.0 are sewed, there is provided a toe portion 24 which is adapted to t over the toe 12a of the skate boot ll. With the warmer lll attached to the skate l2, lower edges 26 and 2S of the halves 14 and lo, respectively, extend rearwardly in generally parallel relation to be disposed immediately beneath the sole 13 of the skate boot 11. ln fact, because of the configuration of the halves i4 and lo, the edges 26 and 28 are adapted to be slightly spaced from the blade 15 of the ice skate l2. As a result, the lower portions 30 and 32 of the halves 14 and le underlie the bottom 13a of the sole 13 of the skate boot 11.

In order to assure that the warmer 14D covers substantially the entire bottom of the sole 13 of the skate boot 11, the lower edges 26 and 2S are provided with an elastic sans. More specically, an elastic strip 34 is sewed by suitable stitching 36 along the lower edges 26 and 28 of the halves i4 and 16, respectively. Thus, because of the inherent coniiguration of the halves 14 and 16 and because or" the resilient properties of the elastic 34, the lower portions 30 and 32 of the halves i4 and 16 underlie approximately all of the bottom 13a of the sole 13 of the boot l-when the warmer is properly secured to the skate 12, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In attaching the warmer 1li to the skate 12, it will be appreciated that the toe 24 of the warmer ltl is positioned over the toe 12a of the skate boot 11 and the halves 14 and 15 are flattened against and pulled rearwardly of the sides 12b oi the skate boot Il. As a consequence, assuming that the inwardly directed seam 22 is properly aligned with the laces of the skate boot 1l, the bottom 22a oi the seam 22 -abuts the front part of the blade l5'. Hence, as the halves 14 and lo are pulled rearwardly, the elastic 34 tends to stretch somewhat so that the edges 2o and 2S assume a position slightly spacedv apart from the blade 15, as shown in FIG. 2. In addition, as the 3 halves v14 and 16 are pulled rearwardly, the upper ends 40 and 42 (see FIG. 5) coact with and engage either the skaters leg 48 or clothing. Finally, the warmer 10 is iixedly secured to the skate 12 by .the simple expediency of overlapping vertically extending .rear aps 44 and 46 of the halves 14 and 16, respectively.

In order that the warmer 10 snugly tits about a number of different sized skates, adjustable fastening means 52, 54,- and 56 are embodied on the aps 44 and 46 of the Warmer 10. In this connection, the warmer 10 is selfadjusting in size so that it can lit, yet substantially entirely enclose, any number of different size skate boots within a particular range; This feature is accomplished by permitting the aps 44 and 46 to be overlapped to different degrees within a particular range. In addition, the adjustable fastening means S6 permits adjustment and `overlap of the lower portions of the tlaps 44 and 46 to individually control the spacing between the edges 26 and 28, while adjustable fastening means 52 permits adjustment and overlap of the upper ends 40 and 42 to individually control the degree of snugness of the Warmer 10 on the skaters leg 48.

Considering now in greater detail the fastening means 52,54, and 56, each comprises a pair of coacting strips 58, 6) which are respectively sewed in a horizontal direction adjacent the vertical ends of the flaps 44 and 46. The strips 58 embody a multitude of small hooks, while the strips 60 embody a multitude of barbs. rl'he hooks and barbs coact to maintain the flaps 44 and 46 together when they are pressed together. Because of the construction of the hooks and barbs, the strips 58, 60 (and hence the flaps 44 and 46) are maintained together during normal usage of the warmers 10, yet can be separated by the mere expediency of pulling the flaps 44 and 46 apart.

, Considering more specifically FIGS. 3 and 4, adjustable fastening means 52, 54 and 56 :are located respectively at the upper ends, at the intermediate portions, and `at the lower ends of the aps 44 `and 45. Particularly, the upper adjusting means 52 comprises a horizontally extending strip 58 suitably secured by stitching or the like, to the inner surface of the llap 40 and, in addition, a horizontally extending strip 60 suitably secured, by stitching or the like, to the outer surface of .the ap 46. Although it is immaterial which strips 58 or 60 embody the hooks and which embody the barbs, in a warmer 10 built in accordance with the present invention, the strips 58 embody the barbs, while the strips 60 embody rows of slightly spaced apart hooks. As illustrated. in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fastening means 54 and 55 likewise embody strips 58 and 60 which are identically constructed to the strips 58 and 60 embodied in the adjusting means 52. Because of the spaced relation between the adjustable fastening means 52, 54, and 56, it is apparent that each of the means 52, 54, and 56 is individually adjustable, i.e. any one of the means 52, 54,:and 56 may be adjusted without adjustment of the other two. Hence, the upper, intermediate, and lower portions of the halvesV 14 and 16 of the warmer 10 may be individually adjustable so that the warmer 10 may snugly engage the upper, side, and bottomV of the skate boot 11.

More particularly, by increasing the degree of overlap of the upper portions 4t) and 42 of the halves 14-and 16 from that shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 3, the effective size of the upper end of the warmer 10 is reduced, thereby assuring that the upper end of the Warmer 10 snugly engages either the skaters leg or clothing.

4 Similarly, by increasing the degree of overlap of the strips 58 and 60 of the adjusting means 56, the elastic 34 is stretched, with the result that the edges 26 and 28 are drawn together to assure coverage of substantially the entire bottom 13a of the sole 13. As a consequence, the skate boot 11 is substantially enclosed by the Warmer 10 and the heat generated by the foot is retained in lthe skate boot 11 and the substantially colder air currents present in the skating area are prevented from passing into the skate boot 11.

Bytbe aboveY described construction, it will be appreciated that there has been provided a warmer which can be quickly and easily placed on anice skate and, further, can be quickly and easily adjusted to sungly engage the entire side and bottom of the skate boot 11. In addition, when the warmer 10 is attached to a skate, the upper and lower, and for that matter the intermediate, portions of the warmer 10 can be individually adjusted to change the degree of snugness of the warmer 10 to specific parts of the skate boot 11. Finally, the warmer 10 can be quickly removed from the skate 12 by the simple expediency of pulling the flaps 44 and 46 apart. As a consequence, the appearance, styling, and distinctiveness of the ice skate 12 can be immediately changed by quickly and easily removing a warmer of a particular color and styling and replacing it with a warmer of an-l other color and styling.

While the embodiments described herein are at present considered to be preferred, it is understoodthat various modifications and improvements may bey made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modilications and improvements as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A skate Warmer for enclosing substantially an entire shoe skate, said warmer comprising a unitary fabric-like material embodying outer layer of deep pile having heat retentive properties and a highly ornamental appearance, said material including two substantially identical halves sewed together along their leading ends to provide a seam that is adapted to overlie the laces of the.

skate, the halves being configured to provide a pocket for coacting with the toe of a skate, each half having an upper end adapted to engage the leg or clothing of a skater and a lower end adapted to underlie the skate sole, and a pair of vertically extending flaps adapted to overlap to snugly dispose the warmer adjacent the sides and bottom of the skate, resilient means attached to the halves adjacent their lower end to assure disposition of the warmer beneath substantially the entire sole of the skate, and individually adjustable fastening means secured to said flaps adjacent the upper and lower end of the warmer to assure that the warmer snugly fits the skate and the skaters leg or clothing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,160,159 11/15 Freeman 28o-1.1.37 1,714,760 5/29 Bloombergvk 28o-11.37 2,029,787 2/36 0111er 28o-11.37 2,587,205 2/52 raster 28o-11.37 2,836,908 6/58 Aninger 28o- 11.37 3,015,896 1/62 Bresiow 36 5s.6

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner. BENJAMIN HERSH, Examiner. 

